The Maxima hunt for Superman: Man of Tomorrow is half Hollywood melodrama and half true intrigue. Within a day of one list of potential actresses going out, a second list appeared. The internet went into full speculation mode.
By now, it’s almost as chaotic as the character herself.
Adria Arjona, Eva De Dominici, Sydney Chandler, and Grace Van Patten are the four finalists for the role. All four have tested this week in Atlanta, where James Gunn is prepping for the sequel.
It all began when reports surfaced that DC Studios was screen-testing Marisa Abela, Ella Purnell, and Adria Arjona. However, Gunn cut that short.
On Threads, he called the reporting “shoddy and inaccurate.” Saying he was “frankly disappointed” that Deadline didn’t do more due diligence. But he did mention he’d be happy to work with anyone, saying: “I’ve been friends with Adria a long time since I cast her in The Belko Experiment.”
Deadline issued a correction, removing Abela and Purnell’s names from the original article.
So then came the THR-confirmed list. That includes Arjaon from the original list that Gunn shouldered, but he didn’t actually exclude her by how he worded his statement. That’s something to note. She’s the one actress mentioned in both reports, meaning she may indeed be top of the pile.
Honestly, they are all equally interesting in this sort of role.
Arjun has proven that she has weight in genre storytelling with Andor. Chandler can run an FX show all by herself with Alien: Earth. Van Patten is coming off the finale of Tell Me Lies, which finished airing in February. De Dominici, in my view, is the most interesting of the three because the name is not as immediately recognizable with a mainstream demographic. Which is sometimes exactly that kind of species that works the best for an overly big comic character.
Maxima
If we turn them back to Maxima, the most famous comic storyline that involves her is when, in the “Panic in the Sky” crossover event. Brainiac riles up an invasion of Earth, which she works to stop. She also, maybe, has this mystery about her rumored appearance here that has fans wondering if the film was a soft adaptation of that stint. If so, that’s a very interesting structural choice.
They add Brainiac and Maxima into the mix, which not only upgrades the bad guy, but it’s a cosmological shift for the DCU.
Gunn has said, “it’s as much a Lex movie as it is a Superman movie,” which takes this up in magnitude, and up in moral complexity. And adding Maxima into that mix, a queen who has been both enemy, ally, and would-be lover to Superman all at once, can give this film this kind of always-uncertain edge that the first one didn’t have.”
Superman: Man of Tomorrow has a release date of July 9, 2027, and comes on the heels of Superman, which grossed $618.7 million globally last year. A deal is on the way, as shooting on the film kicks off in Atlanta late next week.
Whoever gets the part has a really fun job. Maxima is not a side character. Done right, she could be the most memorable new addition to this universe yet.
